Right to Property: J&K and Ladakh High Court orders army to pay rent for 46 years for land occupation | India News

NEW DELHI: The Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has ordered the Indian Army to pay the rent accrued over 46 years for occupying a piece of private land since 1978. The judgment was delivered by Justice Wasim Sadiq Nargal on November 20 , who pointed out that the right to property now lies firmly within the scope of human rights.
“The right to property is now not only considered a constitutional or legal right, but also falls within the realm of human rights. Human rights include basic individual rights such as the right to shelter, livelihood, health and employment, and over the years these rights have acquired multifaceted dimensions,” Justice Nargal noted in his judgment.
The petition was filed in 2014 by Abdul Majeed Lone, who claimed that his 1.6 hectare plot in Tangdhar, near the Line of Control in Kupwara district, had been occupied by the army since 1978. Lone claimed he had not received any compensation or rent for the use of his land over the decades.
The Centre’s counsel denied that the army had occupied the country for defence. However, an investigation conducted by the tax authorities confirmed that the military had indeed owned the land since 1978. Based on the investigation report, the court found that the petitioner had been deprived of his rights without due process of law.
“The State, in exercise of its power of ’eminent domain’, may interfere with a person’s right to property by acquiring the same, but this must be for a public purpose and reasonable compensation must be paid,” it said court.
Judge Nargal noted that the state and its agencies cannot dispossess citizens of their property without adhering to legal procedures. The court further clarified that the obligation to provide compensation, although not expressly stated in Article 300A of the Constitution of India, could be inferred from it.
“From the facts stated above, it is clear that the respondents violated the basic rights of the petitioner and deprived him of a valuable constitutional right without following the procedure provided by law,” the court noted, adding that such actions amounted to for a gross violation of the law. human rights.
The court ordered the army to pay off the outstanding rent within one month. It also ordered a fresh survey of the site to ensure that the petitioner is appropriately compensated.
This ruling is consistent with an earlier Supreme Court ruling, which declared that the right to own private property is a human right. It ruled that the state cannot encroach on private property and later claim ownership under the guise of ‘adverse possession’.